1. Field of the Invention Process
This process involves the cleaning and shaping of the trunk of a date palm to prepare it for transplanting; more specifically to properly protect and bring out the true natural beauty of this exotic desert tree. Still more particularly, the invention involves cleaning and shaping the trunk of a date palm by a process which does not penetrate the fibrous exterior surrounding the vascular tissue or leave pockets in which water can collect.
2. Prior Art
Palm tree nurseries and landscapers dig around the root ball of a palm and gently lay it on the ground to prepare it for transplanting. The palm has many frond stubs (leaf bases) from fronds that have died and broken off. The rough, ragged look is not desirable.
For years the accepted procedure has been to use a chain saw to remove these old frond stubs, i.e., leaf bases. As the palm lay on the ground the operator would cut off these very wide stubs which often reaches 10" to 12" on a medium size palm with a trunk diameter of 18", many times cutting into the live wood of the palm's trunk, i.e., the fibrous exterior, and injuring the tree and exposing the vascular tissue to possible entry of pathogens which could kill the palm in a humid environment such as in Florida or near the coast. Furthermore, the weight and power of the chain saw, as well as the odd positions that the saw has to be held in to remove the top, side and bottom stubs of the palm trunk by over cutting with the chain saw blade makes cutting these leaf bases difficult. Other landscapers have used circular saws, hand saws and bow saws with the same damaging result to the palm. Historically, this also weakened the palm, and the resulting perpendicular cut to the palm trunk did not produce a natural appearing weathered look. Even the name given this chain saw cut--"step cut" --implies an unnatural configuration. The very design of a saw blade of this type makes nature's natural look difficult, if not impossible to achieve. These old procedures are still used today throughout the industry in the palm growing areas of the United States. For years a better tools and processes were needed and sought after.
Spanish missionaries introduced the date palm into the Western hemisphere by planting date seeds around early missions. From this origin, the date palm, which is known botanically as "Phoenix Dactylifera L." has become a very important part of agricultural production in southwestern United States where a significant crop of date fruit is produced annually. Although date palms may be grown from seeds, primary production is by rooting offshoots that develop from axillary buds on the tree trunk, chiefly during the early years of the palm tree's life. Removal of the offshoots generally takes place after the tree has started to produce a second generation of offshoots. The size of the offshoots when ready for cutting generally varies from 40 to 100 pounds in weight and from 8 to 14 inches in diameter.
As a general rule, green leaves are not removed from an offshoot until it is cut from the parent palm unless the palm is crowded with offshoots. The leaves on the smaller offshoots are sometimes cut back close to the bud to retard growth. The cutting of an offshoot from the parent palm requires care and skill to avoid injury to either the offshoot or the host tree. A specially designed chisel with a rectangular cutting blade is generally used to cut the offshoot. The blade of the tool has one flat side and the other beveled so as to form three sharp cutting edges.
Another important use of the date palm in Southwestern United States has been as an ornamental. The date palm is also rapidly becoming a desirable ornamental in Florida. These palms which can grow quite tall generally obtain maximum leaf spread after 12 to 15 years of age. Frequently older palms retain more leaves than are needed either for fruit production or for an attractive appearance. As many as 180 green leaves have been counted on a single palm unpruned for six years. A considerable number of such leaves will be below the fruit bunches or will present a comparatively unattractive appearance where the palm is used for ornamental purposes. Furthermore, excess lower leaves may increase the relative humidity around the fruit bunches in mid summer, adversely affecting the fruit harvest and this problem is exacerbated in humid climates as in Florida. It also occurs that older leaves or fronds dry and die as the tree ages and may break off leaving unsightly stubs. This is especially undesirable where the tree is to be used for ornamental purposes. Dead or partly dead leaves may be removed at any convenient time but because of greater ease in cutting they are generally removed before becoming hard or drying.
In addition to the foregoing, it has also been recommended to remove the fronds of previous years growth to facilitate pollination and subsequent handling of fruit bunches. For this purpose, a sharp pruning knife with a long curved blade mounted on the handle is most frequently used. The curved blade is a planar surface resembling a curved end carpet cutting knife but of larger size. A cutting tool of this type used in the manner described simply results in a flat cut leaf edge.
As date palms become large and the fronds sturdy and strong, their removal is primarily accomplished by means of a chain saw. Although chain saw removal of fronds or stubs of fronds may be effective, it suffers from the disadvantages of leaving pockets in which water can collect and a frond stub cut surface which is unsightly and unattractive and causes wounds in the vascular tissue of the palm which allow subsequently developing pathogens access to the mere stem. Moreover, because of the toughness of the fronds, chain saw use requires frequent expensive replacement of the chain saw blades as they become dull or break.
The present invention provides a method of cutting the date palm leaf base, i.e, frond stub, which avoids the disadvantages of the techniques heretofore known and results in a date palm bark surface of unusually attractive appearance and which avoids the possibility of the type of injury that would allow entry of dangerous and damaging pathogens.